PKR backing down on Sarawak parliamentary seats?

IT looks as if Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) really is backing down on its desire to stand in up to 15 parliamentary seats in Sarawak.

Recently its state liaison chief Baru Bian said the party would be standing in just 10 seats.

This is probably because despite seven months of public official negotiations between PKR and the Democratic Action Party (DAP), they still cannot agree on at least five overlapping seats.

Now PKR’s other so-called partner in the coalition of (in)convenience known as Pakatan Rakyat (PR) — Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) — has come out to say that it wants eight seats in Sarawak.

As there are 31 parliamentary seats in Sarawak and the DAP has indicated it wants 14 seats, that would leave PKR with nine — making it a very small player in PR, especially since Baru was supposedly PR’s candidate of choice for Sarawak Chief Minister had PR won the last State election.

We all know that no longer holds water as DAP has made it very clear that its state chief Wong Ho Leng is opposition leader, making DAP the top dog opposition party in Sarawak.

The point is PKR seems to have realised that it cannot win against Big Brother DAP.

Although its state vice-chairman See Chee How had previously said PKR wants seats such as Stampin, he seems to have softened this position.

“The Stampin seat overlapping claim will be resolved by all parties in the organisational channels and spirit of Pakatan Rakyat (PR),” See is quoted as saying in a recent report.

This was in response to DAP Sarawak vice-chairman Chong Siew Chiang’s statement that DAP would contest in Stampin for PR whether or not PKR liked it.

Yup no matter what the outcome of seat negotiations, DAP will contest in Stampin because in Chong senior’s words, it is “ridiculous” for PKR to even think of contesting in a Chinese-majority seat!

Hmm … fighting words from DAP to PKR and See’s response?

“He (Chong) is a very senior lawyer and political leader … and I personally am always ready and willing to listen and respect his advice and comments.”

What a change from what See said last August, when he was adamant that Stampin would be PKR’s.

“We want to contest in Stampin and we believe it is time for DAP to be fair and step out of urban and Chinese zones,” he said then.

“Ours is a multiracial party and we aim for a balance of representation. DAP has been successful in projecting itself but restricted to only urban Chinese-majority seats.”

What a contrast right? Seems like DAP has won its war against PKR in the Stampin seat at least.

Guess PKR has conceded that Chinese-majority seats only belong to the Chinese-majority DAP. Guess DAP has won again huh?

The Borneo Post report:

See softens stance on Stampin

KUCHING: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) state vice-chairman See Chee How seems to have softened his stance on the Stampin parliamentary seat, which is being claimed by both PKR and the Democratic Action Party (DAP).

When contacted via SMS yesterday he said: “The Stampin seat overlapping claim will be resolved by all parties in the organisational channels and spirit of Pakatan Rakyat (PR).”

He was commenting on DAP Sarawak vice-chairman Chong Siew Chiang’s statement that DAP would be the party contesting in Stampin for PR.

Chong also said DAP would field the party’s candidate, irrespective of whether its coalition partner PKR agreed or not.

In response, See merely said that he respected Chong.

“He (Chong) is a very senior lawyer and political leader … and I personally am always ready and willing to listen and respect his advice and comments,” said the Batu Lintang assemblyman.

This seems to contrast with See’s stance last August, when he stamped PKR’s claim over the constituency.

“We want to contest in Stampin and we believe it is time for DAP to be fair and step out of urban and Chinese zones,” he said then.

“Ours is a multiracial party and we aim for a balance of representation. DAP has been successful in projecting itself but restricted to only urban Chinese-majority seats.”